"I always knew this is what I wanted," Stone said. "When you have a passion for something, you don't stop. The passion I have for this music, it was like nothing else. It's something I can't see myself not doing. It's in my heart."

Stone's mother, Renita Lattimore, now of Annapolis, said her son has been rapping since he was 9 years old. With the encouragement of an older cousin, who has since died, Stone began writing his own lyrics.

Stone recalled singing and dancing to Michael Jackson as a child, "moon walking all over the place," and names West Coast rapper Tupac Shakur as one of his biggest influences. He moved to California for a recording artist program called Musician's Institute, where he learned the skills of his trade and networked with musicians, producers, writers, rappers and singers – "true artists," he said.

While Lattimore said it was hard to see her son move across the country, he did so to pursue his dreams and that, she said, is amazing.

"He's doing something he's always wanted to do," Lattimore said. "For him to be able to make his dreams a reality, it's really big for me. I'm so proud he never gave up ... he had a lot of drive and determination, and that's awesome."

Because Stone's episode of "The Voice" has yet to hit the airwaves, he said he was unable to talk about his experience on the show, or how far he progressed in the competition. According to his Facebook page, Stone will either appear on the episode airing Monday, Feb. 6 or Monday, Feb. 13.